Flesh Grip by Jean Hugard
The loose flesh at the root of the thumb can be used to maintain a break after the pack has been cut, doing away with the necessity of inserting the tip of the left little finger, in this manner:
Pick up the cut and put it in the left hand, well down on the palm, and squeeze the left side of the packet tightly against the fleshy root of the thumb by pressing the second, third and fourth fingers against the right hand side of the cards.
In putting the other half of the pack on top it will be found an easy matter to clip a fold of the skin between the two packets.
The outer ends of the cards may now be tapped perfectly square, the first joints of the left fingers are all on top of the deck so that it can be shown quite freely and the bottom ends of the cards can be tapped on the table without the least danger of losing the break.
This can be found instantly by the right thumb tip by feel alone and the deck split at that point for a riffle shuffle, ‘thus avoiding the pass; or the break can be opened a little, the tip of the left little finger inserted and the pass made in the usual way; or the pack may be picked up for an overhand shuffle, the break being held with the tip of the thumb, the cards above the break being then shuffled off and the balance thrown on top.
Again, the flesh grip can be secured after the insertion of the little finger tip, following the replacing of a chosen card.
The tapping of the ends of the deck and the position of the left fingers on top will convince the most skeptical spectator that his card has really been lost in the deck.
From Card Manipulations by Jean Hugard (1934)
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